"Huh? Manager, do you mean... for tomorrow's game against the Yakult Swallows, you're planning to start me?"
After catching up with his friends from high school, when Lin Guanglai returned to the hotel where the SoftBank team was staying in Tokyo, Akiyama Koji came to his room to inform him about the starting arrangement for the next day.
This truly caught Lin Guanglai by surprise, leaving him unprepared:
The SoftBank team's expedition to Tokyo involves playing 4 games, 2 at Shengong Stadium against the Yakult Swallows and 2 at Tokyo Dome against the Yomiuri Giants. It's only been 5 days since Lin Guanglai last pitched at Koshien, and according to the regular "6 days between games" routine and the dual swordsmanship training schedule, Lin Guanglai was supposed to rest tomorrow and then start pitching in the second game against the Swallows the day after tomorrow.
